Do you want to enjoy a vacation with culinary conscious? Epicure & Culture has collected a variety of accommodations worldwide that cater to vegetarians and customize their menus to guests with other dietary restrictions. In addition to caring for their guests, many of these Bed & Breakfasts use sustainable, locally grown and organic produce, including ingredients grown on-site. Some even offer educational cooking and gardening classes so you can bring the farm to your table back home. Furthermore, all of the locations include opportunities to supplement healthy eating with outdoor activities.
Sea Palm Strudel at Stanford Inn Ravens Restaurant. Photo courtesy of Stanford Inn.
1. Stanford Inn by the Sea
Mendocino Coast, California
For a healthy, relaxing and educational getaway, try the Stanford Inn by the Sea on California’s Mendocino Coast. Driving to the property you’ll pass hillsides lush with organic vegetables, flower gardens and orchards farmed using bio-intensive methods. These gardens produce ingredients for the inn’s Raven Restaurant, which serves numerous vegan options. Think grilled portobellos topped with tangy orange-chipotle BBQ sauce, shiitake ravioli with caramelized onion sauce and biological tacos stuffed with fresh veggies and a lime crème fraiche.
Onsite and around the Inn, there are many opportunities for health. For instance, the inn offers vegan cooking classes, organic gardening classes, yoga classes, wellness classes, spa and massage services, canoe rentals, bike rentals, an indoor swimming pool, hot tub and sauna and much more. If you would rather get off the property, the location on Big River provides easy access to canoeing, bike trails, nearby beaches and headlands, and Mendocino’s shops, art galleries and restaurants.
Rates range from $221 to $575 and include breakfast each morning.
Herb Garden at the Ranch. Photo courtesy of Buck Valley Ranch.
2. Buck Valley Dude Ranch
Fulton County, Pennsylvania
Meet your dietary needs while getting in touch with your inner cowboy/cowgirl. Buck Valley Dude Ranch provides healthy and hearty meals — they make much use of the herb garden sitting right outside the pantry — that fuel action-packed days of horseback riding and other outdoor activities. With a naturalistic setting in Pennslyvania’s Appalachian Mountains, you can enjoy watching wildlife, relaxing in the hot tub or cooling off in the swimming pool. Access 2,000 acres of hiking with flora and fauna that change seasonally. Outside the ranch, you can bike along the C&O Canal, canoe or kayak in the Potomac River and golf.
A 3-day all inclusive package (meals, riding, lodging) costs $300.
The grounds of Fresh & Wyld Farmhouse Inn. Photo courtesy of Katie Foote.
3. Fresh & Wyld
Paonia, Colorado
Enjoy the up-and-coming agri-tourism destination on the Western Slopes of Colorado by staying in the relaxing, small town of Paonia. This small agricultural town is located close to Gunnison National Park where hiking and mountain biking trails abound. In addiction to the beautiful valley setting surrounded by snow-capped mountains, Paonia is home to many wineries, orchards, a craft cidery and farm-to-table restaurants.
Fresh & Wyld Organic Bed & Breakfast is home to an onsite farm where many ingredients for the restaurant are grown. While they do serve meat, there are a range of globally-inspired vegetarian eats like vegan Thai curry with coconut rice, veggie kebabs rubbed with zaatar, and black bean and avocado tostadas.
The owner and chef is passionate about locally sourced ingredients and sells local art and food year round. Local experts often conduct workshops on candle making, spinning and weaving, soap making, raw food cuisine, gardening and farm-to-table cooking classes.
Rooms start around $125 for double occupancy, breakfast included.
Dinner at Chittoor Kottaram Temple Inn. Photo courtesy of Chittoor Kottaram.
4. The Old Wailuku Inn
Ulupono, Maui, Hawaii
Have you dreamed of traveling back in time to 1920s Hawaii? Stay in a bed & breakfast inn built from Maui’s completely restored 1924 “Queen of Wailuku Homes.” Your stay includes a full gourmet breakfast each morning. With advance notice, the breakfast menu will be adjusted to either vegetarian or vegan by substituting fresh Island veggies, polenta, tofu and cereals. All breakfasts feature delicious, fresh tropical fruits.
Rates range from $165 to $195 a night plus all applicable taxes.
Black Sheep Inn Dining Room. Photo courtesy of the Black Sheep Inn.
5. Black Sheep Inn
Hammondsport, New York
Head to New York’s Finger Lakes and stay at Black Sheep Inn and Spa, focusing on providing guests with the freshest local ingredients in a menu that can accommodate a variety of dietary protocols. One of the owners, Debbie, graduated from New England Culinary Institute and explains her culinary philosophy:
“In our pursuit of local, sustainable and seasonal, we are proud to source over 85% of our ingredients from within 50 miles of the Inn.”
Debbie cooks according to guests’ food allergies and dietary preferences. She has grains milled specifically for the property and offers gluten-free, grain-free, vegan, vegetarian and raw options. Moreover, one-on-one cooking classes are offered to teach guests about best practices of healthy living and show them that “healthy” food is easy to cook and delicious. The B&B is minutes from amazing wineries of the Finger Lakes as well as other exceptional craft breweries and museums.
Rates start at $199 per night for double occupancy.
Harvesting ingredients for lunch. Photo courtesy of Museflower Retreat & Spa.
6. Mt. Washington Bed & Breakfast
Shelburne, New Hampshire
Travel tip: Drive the road up the highest peak in the Northeast and stay the night at a vegetarian-friendly accommodation on the way. Mt. Washington Bed & Breakfast has been offering guests vegetarian and vegan breakfast choices since 1999. The owner, Mary Ann, is a vegetarian herself and loves cooking up vegan-style pancakes, French toast, cinnamon-stuffed squash with cranberries, breakfast burritos and more. Mary Ann also prepares afternoon treats — like her specialty Vegan Trail Mix Cookies — to fuel an afternoon of outdoor activities. The Mt. Washington Bed & Breakfast offers seven guest rooms, all with unobstructed views of the White Mountains.
Rates start at $100 for double occupancy.
Produce from local farmers at Singletree. Photo courtesy of Johanna Stern.
7. Singletree Lodge & Cabins
Danbury, North Carolina
For an elegantly rustic bed and breakfast close to North Carolina’s Hanging Rock State Park, consider staying at Singletree Lodge & Cabins. The accommodation sits on 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of family-owned wilderness preserve including over five riverfront miles (eight kilometers). In addition to private hiking trails, guests can enjoy trekking in the adjacent State Park along with river kayaking, fly fishing, boating on the lake, mountain climbing, mountain biking, horse trails, zip lines, and hunting.
Because of the large assortment of outdoor activities, many guests are fitness oriented and the B&B tries to match this interest in healthy living with their meals. As part of the room fee, the lodge serves a huge country breakfast incorporating locally sourced, organic and non-GMO ingredients.
Rates start at $180 per night.
Dining Al Fresco at Beechwood Inn. Photo courtesy of Beechwood Inn B&B.
8. Beechwood Inn Bed & Breakfast
Clayton, Georgia
Beechwood Inn Bed and Breakfast seeks to reconnect food to its origins and people to their food by serving local, seasonal and sustainable food. The B&B operates an organic vegetable, herb and edible flower farm, whose ingredients are used in your breakfast, the nightly wine reception and in their Saturday Chef’s Table-Style Dinners. To further enhance the farm to table experience, the B&B’s Executive Chef offers vegetarian (or gluten-free) cooking classes.
Rooms and cabins range from $179-$279 per night, including a two-course gourmet breakfast featuring local farm foods and wine reception each evening.
The exterior of the Vick. Photo courtesy of Victorian Mansion B&B.
9. Victorian Mansion Bed & Breakfast
Los Alamos, California
Are you looking for a luxury bed and breakfast in the heart of Santa Barbara wine country? Choose from one of Victorian Mansion’s six themed suites — 50’s, Gypsy, Roman, Egyptian, Pirate, and French — all with fireplace, hot tub, in-suite breakfast and a bottle of local wine. Hidden bathrooms, spiral staircases, a cannon coffee table, an Egyptian sarcophagus, a chariot and a 1956 Cadillac convertible are a sample of the treasures inside. In the morning, a hot, gourmet breakfast appears in your suite via a private food butler. Vegetarian options for guests include spinach and feta quiche, apple strata, tostada de potata, and cinnamon roll French toast.
Rates start around $245 per night.
Breakfast at Briar Rose B&B in Boulder, CO. Photo courtesy of Briar Rose.
10. Briar Rose Bed & Breakfast
Boulder, Colorado
For a completely meat-free inn nestled in the Colorado mountains, Briar Rose Bed & Breakfast is your spot, including an all-organic breakfast (choice of vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free). They also offer a large assortment of fresh organic loose-leaf tea, served any time of day with famous homemade shortbread butter cookies. Close to the property reside mountain trails with panoramic views of the Continental Divide. Hike down an intimate canyon to view rock formations and cross streams to visit a secluded meadow. The beautiful Boulder Creek Path is a couple hundred yards away.
Rates start at $219 per night.
By Katie Foote
Jessica Festa is the editor of the travel sites Jessie on a Journey (http://jessieonajourney.com) and Epicure & Culture (http://epicureandculture.com). Along with blogging at We Blog The World, her byline has appeared in publications like Huffington Post, Gadling, Fodor’s, Travel + Escape, Matador, Viator, The Culture-Ist and many others. After getting her BA/MA in Communication from the State University of New York at Albany, she realized she wasn’t really to stop backpacking and made travel her full time job. Some of her most memorable experiences include studying abroad in Sydney, teaching English in Thailand, doing orphanage work in Ghana, hiking her way through South America and traveling solo through Europe. She has a passion for backpacking, adventure, hiking, wine and getting off the beaten path.
